Tag Archives: Muldwych

Hey Guys, thought it was about time I put an update up on the latest happenings in my little comic book journey.

Since the last post there has been some ups and downs but THANKFULLY all that seems to be coming to a halt, I am now in a good place with some great projects, I am finding time to write AND letter a good amount on both and all is good in the Muldwych comic making word.

I got a promotion at work in my “real” job three months ago and have been MEGA busy, I’ve been flying from Aberdeen to London every fourth week to work and have been having to take a lot of work home and work late which has meant I was not able to put as much hours in to writing as lettering as before but that also has started to calm down a little bit.

Currently I am working on the two stories as a writer (and a couple of short but that’s a post for another day) and this is where the first down since last post was.

Due to unforeseen circumstances we had to pull out of launching ‘And They Come’ had to be pulled from being launched at Glasgow Comic Con which was a nightmare, apologies to Chris at La Baguette Noir Press who is printing the story.

I am still gutted that it never happened but this WILL STILL be released this year hopefully if all goes to plan, failing that early next year, I am nearly finished writing issue two for this four part mini-series.

The second of my stories ‘The Odd Lot’ has issue one pretty much finished, I am nearly finished the lettering for issue one for the editor to pick over and have written the first few pages of issue two also.

The plan with this is to right most of the first three issues and then start releasing it so expect this to be released early next year followed by issue two about four months later.

I have a couple of short stories kicking about as well, another submitted to 2000AD for future shock and a couple as homework for the ‘Silver City Comics’ which is a monthly group I attend in Aberdeen with people who create comics and the same group who released the Anthology I lettered a few stories in 🙂

Writing wise I have been equally as busy with a bunch of AMAZING stories that I am so happy and proud to be part of.

First up is a story that I lettered which was submitted to ‘Oni Press’ called ‘Nephilim’, I can’t really share with you as I am unaware of the current status and am waiting to hear back what is happening with it.

I am SO happy with this next few projects, starting with ‘Sadistic’, this story is being published by ‘Insane Comics’ and is a pretty phenomenal story.

We also have Sprites Destiny which is actually coming out in about six weeks I believe, I will post on each issue closer to release dates and the like with this most likely to be the first one I talk about when I have more images/dates/links etc.

There is ‘We Kill The Dead’ which I have spoken about before and is about a third of the way to having issue one complete.

I finished lettering Zombie Cruise which was published in ‘Nerd Nation Presents’ last week and I will post a link to the store where you can buy it as soon as I get it 🙂

MASSIVE mention to the comic book ‘Sinthetic’ which I jumped on at lettering issue three and there is still another issue for the first arc.

Sinthetic is an industrial sci-fi graphic novel. Based around a character, code named Sinthetic, who awakens to find himself hundreds of years in the future where the planet is all but dead and mankind is just another resource to be harvested.
Sinthetic Facebook Page HERE
Art is by Emil Koepcke, Twitter HERE
Writing is by Lee Newman, Facebook HERE | Twitter HERE

Last story is one which I just finished with two of my VERY good friends Pete and Lee. You will already know Pete from being the artist on ‘The Odd Lot’ and a good friend of mine but the reason this was such a fun story was the writer Lee Newman is a good pal as he is the writer for the story ‘Sinthetic’ I mention above and all three of us know each other quite well.

It’s a five page story called Big Game with a hunter, yeti’s and is currently being submitted to both Heavy Metal Magazine as well as a second Anthology as a plan B.
So as you can see been busy, so busy in fact I have had to start TURNING DOWN lettering work GEESUZ!
Please give all the links to each person’s page a like/follow etc as they are all decent folk and comics.

Following on from the last post where I was telling you about the epic project I am lettering called ‘Revenants’ I thought I would share some of the other projects I am involved with.

As mentioned in previous post’s I have finished lettering four of the five stories in the upcoming ‘The Silver City Anthology Volume 1′ which is being launched at the Granite City Comic Con on the 30th of May, can’t wait until that’s is out and I can share s page with you.

I have also lettered a story called ‘Zombie Cruise’ which is going to be in an anthology later this year and I am also doing two other stories in the same book which I am waiting on the art for.

I have taken over lettering duties for the ongoing comic ‘Sinthetic’ and I will share some more details with you in the next couple weeks and all the time I am still practicing away 🙂

Look…I am getting alright 😉

Another project I am involved in and REALLY excited about is a 4 page short story for all ages which I am writing and lettering with the amazingly talented Scott Beveridge from ‘MAIDENSTONE’ doing the art which we are submitting to a competition fork ‘Black Hearted Press’.

“Forthcoming book MAIDENSTONE, by the eminently talent Scott Beveridge. Written by Chris Robertson, Maidenstone is a modern day re-telling of the local legends surrounding an ancient Celtic standing stone; this book is a slow-burning, atmospheric horror set to chill readers in April 2015.”

I am now on day twelve of my learning to draw and thought I would put up a post at nearly the end of week two.

If you remember the first post HERE, I was drawing on lined paper from work and normal pencil that I didn’t even know the hardness or blackness of, well I got myself a proper pad, a set of twelve pencils from 4h up to 6b and even a ‘Faber-Castell’ four piece artists pen set for inking which is 0.3mm, 0.5mm, 0.7mm and 1.5mm.

Along with that I have even installed Photoshop to play around with too 🙂

I can definitely see improvements to my drawing and I kind of worked my way up from doing heads/faces to on Tuesday night I done a full bodied female with hand and feet etc along with last night (Thursday) I tried a male.

I found the make sooooo much harder than the female and I realise with both I still have a LOT of work to do hahaha

I will continue to draw full bodied male and females going into next week trying different poses and then will try to do some images with them interacting, fighting, kissing, hugging etc.

After that I think I will try some images with backgrounds before trying actual comic panels.

Anyways here is some of what I’ve done so far.

This was done on Sunday.

Monday.

Tuesday.

Wednesday.

I also inked Tuesdays picture yesterday as well and just tried it in Photoshop this morning.

Took me ages to work out how to use the layers and I realize this is total garbage but figured would share anyways.

Just a first attempt but at least I understand it all a bit better, also done this in 20 minutes so could be a lot better if i put more time in but it was all just about finding way around the software.

That’s all for now, I am trying to do one picture a day at present and that is why some are not as good as they could be, I possibly should take longer but I don’t want to dwell too much as it’s just a learning period 🙂

As I have mentioned a few times previous, I am working on a project called ‘The Odd Lot’ with artist extraordinaire and all round awesome dude Pete Jones.

The comic is coming along great now, from being just conversations on what we would like to work on together to having a full story idea, plot etc.

The first arc idea is jotted down now and I am quarter of the way through writing the first draft for issue one.

It’s been a busy but good time just now for me as issue one ‘And They Come’ starts looking more and more like being finishing on time, first draft of issue two on the same comic is a quarter of the way done, along with me learning to draw and not to mention the comic I am speaking about in this post ‘The Odd Lot’.

The Odd Lot is about a group of teens/young adults who gain superpowers after their DNA alters from swimming in nuclear waste at Gare Loch where Faslane and the Naval Base in Scotland is situated.

We get power discovery, action scenes, friendships, romance and a bad ass super villain.

There is a lot more to it than that but if you can imagine a comic that tries to get the feel of Kick-Ass mixed with the attitude of Misfits and is based in Scotland then you have an idea of what we are going for.

The team consists of six troubled peeps who are extremely fun to write 🙂

And look at the rough penciled character designs that I got from Pete last night which I am ECSTATIC about, he says will have some better versions next week with some thumbnails but it gives you an idea 🙂

I would like to say that i got the idea and inspiration from a song called ‘The Numbness’ by one of my favourite bands ‘Stanley Odd’, more specifically the line

“I developed gills and my DNA strand changed since I started swimming at Faslane.”.

I have told them about the inspiration and idea to which they have been unbelievably cool and encouraging with the idea (thank god).

Will post later on in the week about my drawing as i had a bit of a breakthrough.

Sorry about the delay in posts recently but have been really busy with a trio of comic book writing, real life job and family.

Last month was my eldest son and middle child’s birthday, may not seen a big deal but he has Autism and has been asking since about February for his birthday so this is not just a big deal but an occasion that took special intricate planning with gifts being flown in from Asia, America and such.

With the comic book writing i finished and submitted my future shock for 2000AD and am awaiting a reply from them plus its only SIX DAYS until DarbyPop announce the winner of their Stingray – Breaking into Comics competition i entered so fingers crossed.

The writing i am currently working on is issue #2 of ‘And The Come’ AND another talent search, this time for Top Cow with the details HERE.

Basically its another 22 page script, mines is on their character Aphrodite IX.

With regards to my comic ‘And They Come’ its coming along BRILLIANTLY with the main cover and pages one & two fully inked along with pages three, four, five and six pencils almost complete.

When the pencils for them are completed they will be inked, then all of about will be coloured and sent over to Ken for lettering.

Along with this though i had a page at the end of the comic i needed filled and so a very talented cartoonist called Pete (Facebook Page HERE) offered to do an alternative cover for me to put inside and its pretty cool 🙂

Here is Pete’s cover without the Text.

And while we are at it, i showed you the penciled cover HERE and so here is the inked version 🙂

So all in all still very busy.

Its looking like we will 100% get ‘And They Come’ issue #1 out in 2015 but whether we make Granite City Comic Con is another matter.

Pete who done the alternative cover above and i are hopefully going to be working on a project early next year as well so keep your eyes open for that too.

I have been really busy lately with the comic book writing side of things but I did write this poem here called ‘How dare you’ Step-Parents.

I know a lot about step-parents in that I have a step-dad myself, my brother is a step-parent to his eldest daughter and my partner Sabrina who I wrote another poem for HERE is a step parent to my eldest and a damn good one at that.

There are many myths about step-parents like the ‘The Wicked Stepmother’ or ‘The Abusive Stepfather’ which just aren’t the norm, these are terms which are just ridiculous and from all the step-parents I have seen just not true.

It’s put into the mind set (like most things are) from the media with films and TV shows where they show the step-parent trying steal the affection from the child or being the bad abusive, cold hearted parent who resents the child being there.

The truth is much different, the truth is a parent who truly NEVER feels 100% accepted by all, the grandparents, the child, schools and teachers never really accept them and generally most of the population.

It’s difficult for anyone to become a step-parent as you don’t just fall in love with your partner YOU HAVE TO fall in love with the child no exceptions, even if they are a bit of a nightmare.

There is an expectation that you will just fall in love with the child immediately, and they you but that’s not true either, that is a relationship which both step-parent and child work at.

In the case of my partner who was already a step-parent to my daughter for five years, before my ex-partner and daughters biological mother passed away and she came to live with us.

This is a start of a whole new load of troubles with people looking in and being all like “you will never replace her real mother” or “I hope she doesn’t think she will make her forget her real mother” WE BLOODY KNOW THIS!!!

She carried on doing an amazing job being there for my daughter , in fact scrap that out OUR daughter like she already had been doing for years prior, the only difference being that instead of weekends and holidays she was staying permanently.

This is them way back in 2011

They have a hard job and people need to stop making it even harder for them.

I will forever be grateful for the relationship she has with our daughter and I will forever be grateful for my own step-dad who IS my kids grandfather and to all you other step-parents who step up through all the crap you get thrown at you THANK YOU……

‘How dare you’ Step-Parents

Here is your role should you choose to accept it, the one you will never be good enough at or be a success,
You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t, how you really feel you’ll need to repress,
You’re going to be tested now by everyone you know, relatives, neighbors, friends and the child,
You’ve accepted the role of a step-parent you see, so sit down and strap in because it’s about to get wild,

Here is your ready-made child, who you will shower with happiness and give your heart,
You will be there for them always no questions asked, but some think of their life you should not be apart,
They’re NOT your blood, they’re NOT your DNA and they didn’t come from your womb,
How dare you teach that child right and wrong, how dare you try and help them bloom,

How dare you try and replace, a parent who isn’t there,
How dare you step up to the plate, and wipe away that child’s tear,
How dare you give that child your all, right up until your last breath,
Even though their real parent isn’t here, through being forced to, choice or death,

How dare you try to be a role model, teaching them right from wrong,
How dare you accept them into your life, making sure they know they belong,
How dare you rise up above everyone, when they are trying to destroy your name,
Even though you accept that no matter what, you will always be given the blame,

It winds me up and gets me down, the misconceptions out there for these people,
So what they weren’t there at the beginning, they still deserve to be treated as equal,
There needs to be some recognition, to the impossible job they accept,
I’ve seen one frustrated and exhausted, I sat with her as she just wept

It’s a role they accept for many a reason, but one that overall stands above,
The reason they accept becoming a step-parent is for that one special word, called love,
The last two lines now and I want to say, you step-parents to me are amazing,
Outstanding humans, who deserve more than you get, I will personally never stop praising.

Haven’t posted for a while due to being really busy at work, home and with the writing so thought i would put up a little post as to what I have been up to.

As mentioned previously my comic ‘And the Come’ is being worked on with Chandra having finished the pencils and part inking on the cover and pages one and two.

Ah. what the hell, here is the pencils for the cover but this is all you are getting until its finished 😉

I have actually started writing issue two as well and currently am on page five of it BUT it’s on hold just now.

The reason issue two is on hold at the moment is due to three other projects I have going on, the first of which is for the Breaking Into Comics: Darby Pop’s Script Contest.

What is the contest?

“Script a one-off issue within the INDESTRUCTIBLE universe that is focused on Stingray (who appears in INDESTRUCTIBLE issues #1 – #4, which are collected in the TPB Vol. 1). A former superhero who turned (or was led) down a darker path, Stingray has the potential for a rich backstory that you should feel free to explore in whatever way you see fit. You can spin a tale that takes place before the events of the first TP. Or, after. Or even concurrent with. Please be mindful, though, that if you write something with implications too far-reaching, you might put yourself in conflict with our future plans. So, we’d really prefer you focus on a more personal story for Stingray. And feel free to utilize any of the other characters already established in any/all issues of INDESTRUCTIBLE — “our” world is your oyster.”

Darbypop Comics is an offshoot of IDW so it’s a good competition to enter and as the old saying goes, you’ve got to be in it, to win it 🙂

Anyways, I have finished my first draft and its being worked on for the second draft.

The closing date is October 22nd and so will work on it right up until 20th or so.

Along with this I am writing a four page Future Shock to submit into 2000AD

“Future Shocks are self-contained, four page science-fiction short stories with a twist ending. That means you only have four pages to establish your situation and protagonist, develop the situation through dramatic conflict, and then resolve it with an unexpected twist ending.”

And

I have the opportunity to work with another phenomenally talented artist on a short story and illustration book so am currently coming up with ideas for this.

All the while still working full time, spending time with my gorgeous misses and beautiful kids AND STILL running The Riddle Factory so really, REALLY busy and exciting times 🙂

Figured I would try for the next ten years to give the writing lark a proper good go and then at least will never wonder if I could have done it.

Not really sure if i actually like this poem yet but the whole point of this site was to post my writing work good or bad and post updates when i can so what the hell.

I actually wrote it a week or so ago but figure instead of deleting it i will post and then instead of disappearing it will just be resigned to my website archives.

Aberdeen, the BROKEN City.

This image here was the first picture i ever got on ‘Flickr Explore’, i don’t use Flickr any more but i was chuffed at the time.

Explore is Flickr’s way of showcasing the most interesting photos within a given point in time, usually over a 24 hour period.

Breaking, Break and Broke.

We’re BREAKING, BREAKING constantly, we’re BREAKING all the time,
Some go as far as BREAKING the law, do time for committing the crime,
Perhaps the crime committed was a BREAK, a BREAK in of someone’s abode,
Scumbag idiots do it all the time, it’s not focused to one post code,

BREAKING the bank when we know that we shouldn’t, just to get a treat,
It happens to most at some point you know, every woman and man on the street,
Some people BREAK dance showing their moves, if it was me I would BREAK my neck,
I’d need something there to BREAK my fall, no thanks I’ll take a rain check,

There’s people BREAKING up all the time, after a day, a month or years,
Sometimes leaving BROKEN hearts, and faces full of tears,
So many BREAK’s, all different kinds, around us every day,
Some are small, some are big and some just fade away,

Some people BREAK away, from things that were holding them down,
From as easy as ending a phone call, to as harsh as having to leave town,
Trying to make the BREAK through, move on from what has come before,
BREAKING out on their own, cutting the stress, the hardest part was walking out the door,

Meeting new people and BREAKING the ice, it’s not easy with social anxiety,
I only named one social disorder here, but if you look there’s quite a variety
Tense, dizzy, upset are you shaking? Does it feel like you’re going to drown?
If you’re feeling exhausted, tense and panicky, you might be having a BREAK down,

BREAK in, BREAK dance, BREAK beat, and BREAK up, hundreds of types of BREAK’s,
BREAK out, BREAK the mould or having a BREAK down, some come with higher stakes,
It’s only a word, its more than a word, it depends on how you look at it,
It’s my BREAK now, time for me to go, I’m out, I’m gone, I’ve split.

I have finally managed to put together a team for my comic ‘And They Come’.

‘And They Come’ is going to be a four part miniseries to start with, but will end in a way that if I want to revisit the characters/story or if the sales are better than expected the option of continuing is there.

Not only have I managed to get myself a creative team for ‘And They Come’ but I have decided also to change the title which used to be ‘From out the Mist’ and instead am using that as the story title for issue #1.

The story is based around the three main characters Mark, Mitzi and Shannon.

They are best friends and have worked together at the Freakshow for years .

Mark is from a fictional small village in the Highlands and Islands called Hlayl where the three of them head to for a little break so Mark can collect some small keepsakes from his auntie’s his house.

When they get to the isle it happens to be in the middle of some strange happenings and that is all I am saying because I won’t ruin the story for you 😉 because you know you are going to buy it, huh?

I will explain more as time passes but I really wanted this post to introduce you to my creative team.

Of course there is little old me 🙂 the story was my idea and all writing is done by me.

My artist who is doing pencils, ink, character design AND colouring is Chandra.P Kelly.

Chandra has worked on and provided the art for several comics previously like Cosmic for ‘Captive Comics’, Champions of Earth for ‘Fright Entertainment’ as well as the recent SUCCESSFULLY Funded comic on kickstarter ‘Hive Mind’.

You can see his Deviant Art HERE as well as follow him on twitter HERE.

A great talent and I am unbelievably happy to have him 🙂

Likewise I have to say I am equally happy with the letterer I have managed to bag for ‘And They Come’ in Ken Reynolds.

Ken has also worked on comic book’s previous titles like ‘Shit Flingers’ and ‘The Thing from another Postcode’.

Ken works as not just a comic book letterer but a highly talented graphics design and illustrator too and to say I am happy with the two of these guys would be an understatement.

You can see Kens Deviant Art HERE, his graphics design and illustration website HERE , Facebook Page HERE and follow him on twitter HERE.

We are really hoping to have this issue one ready to launch at Granite City Comic Con in Aberdeen on May 2015.

And to finish of the post I am leaving you with a little taster of page ‘And They Come’.

Here is Panels 2 & 3 from page 1 🙂

Awesome 🙂

Closer to the launch date we will be making it available to Pre-Order and I really hope to get as many as possible then as it helps to go towards the publishers printing costs.

I wrote this one today whilst on my lunch at work and still a little unsure about it but what the hell.

When i write poetry and really anything as i go through the same process with comic books and short stories too i tend to just tear through it and then at the end make some little changes or tweaks.

Obviously with the comics and stories its just called ‘first draft’ and i go back for second draft but during the writing of the ‘first draft’ on any i don’t really ponder on anything too long.

Anyways i hope you enjoy this, its a letter to myself, from me on my deathbed.

This be me!

Telling me to get a grip.

Dear Self,

This is a letter from your deathbed you,
I want to tell you things that back then I wish you knew,
If you held this wisdom perhaps you could have grew,
You see life is meant for living man, it’s not just about getting through,

Stop stressing, worrying and focusing on what you don’t want to take place,
Stand up, take a deep breath and look at the world you need to embrace,
You need to STOP BEING UNGRATEFUL; you have a beautiful family at home,
They love you, think the WORLD of you, no need to get up in the morning and groan,

Moaning, groaning, worrying too much, all about things that make you scared,
Stop being jealous of others, I mean to no one’s life do you need to compare,
Your overlooking the beauty of small moments, taking your life for granted,
Spend time with the ones you love and you’ll see that it’s really quite enchanted,

I know you’ve got problems and think too much, it’s you that’s writing this letter,
Giving yourself some life lessons, so you can live your life a whole lot better,
Telling you to stop following the path of least resistance, berating yourself for old mistakes,
Letting others bring you down to their level, for all this shit just put on the brakes,

NO MORE holding grudges, feeling down or pretending to be someone you’re not,
Time to stop speaking to the wrong people, it’s time now to cut out the rot,
It’s time to start loving yourself again, to relax, have fun and enjoy,
You see your getting on a bit now self, you will soon be getting called “Old Boy”,

Start living in the present moment, you’re life you don’t want to miss,
Change your bad habits; look after yourself as so far you’ve been quite remiss,
Go home each night, kiss your kids and wife and remember these changes to do,
I hope it all works out from now on, all the best, yours faithfully, You.